"...believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God, and...
by believing
you may have
life in his name."
John 20:31 [NIV]
Don't just believe it,
LIVE LIKE IT!
GOOD FRIDAY 3rd APRIL
9:30am GOOD FRIDAY SILENT MARCH OF WITNESS
Meet at Sacred Heart Church, Pentrepoeth School Road, Morriston. SA6 6HZ
11am-12pm COMMUNION SERVICE
AT LIFEWELL CHURCH
EASTER SUNDAY 5th APRIL
10:30am EASTER CELEBRATION
AT LIFEWELL CHURCH
3:30pm EASTER CELEBRATION
AT LIFEWELL CHURCH
Please join us for tea after the service
Jesus warns the religious leaders - part 4 - Matthew 23:1-36
"Don*t ever let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters." "And don't address anyone here on earth as "Father," for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. "And don't let anyone call you 'Master,' for there is only one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. "But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
Matthew 23:8-11. [NIV]
Throughout history mankind has often taken great pride in their titles, often relying on a title to define their value or self worth. We all want to be loved and valued. We want to make a difference and feel that there is an importance to who we are and what we do. But we can often get tied up in being defined or valued by our roles/title and when we do that, it leads us off track, to a place of pride and self importance. In this passage Jesus is confronting those who use titles as a badge of honour and importance. He calls on people to not allow others to call them Rabbi or Father or Master, which are titles that raise a person above others. But to take on the title servant! To consider oneself a servant of God and a servant of others. When we exalt ourselves because of our title or abilities, God will humble us! But when we humble ourselves as servants, God will do great things through us.
Paul in his letters to the Romans, Philippians & Titus, introduces himself as a servant of Christ Jesus/God. We may think of Paul as a great man of God but could it be that God was able to do great things through Paul because he knew he was a servant of God? Could it be that Paul getting his value and worth from the fact that he was a servant of God. This enabled him to live free from the trappings of this world and our culture so that he didn't get prideful or self important but kept his values in check, knowing whom he served and lived for?
What would happen if we did the same?
Who is up for being a servant?
It's the world's best seller, it contains values that
helped form our society and its stories open the door to understanding our history, culture, art and literature. Yet 9 out of 10 people don't regularly engage with it. It is of course, the Bible. Bible Society believe in offering the Bible to everyone and sharing it with the next generation. This is why the Bible Society has now embraced the 'Open the Book' project which a number in the church are involved with. Around half a million children are now regularly hearing the Bible in UK primary schools through 'Open the Book'. The Bible Society would love to see this in 5000 schools by 2020 which would mean 1,250,000 children would regularly hear Bible stories.
It is interesting to note the opening in October 2014 of the 'Mary Jones World' exhibition (Llanycil) which welcomes visitors from around the world to hear all about Mary Jones' story and the subsequent birth of the Bible Society.
PLEASE PRAY FOR :-
1. For the volunteer story tellers who currently take 'Open the Book' project into many schools throughout the UK and especially those who do it in Morriston. Pray also for more volunteers and that by 2020, 5000 schools throughout the UK will have taken this on board to allow 1,250,000 children to hear these Bible stories each week.
2 For God*s protection over Christians facing persecution in Iraq and that those who've lost family members and homes find comfort in the words of the Scriptures.
3 For Nabil who works tirelessly to offer the Bible and deliver practical aid to refugees in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq.
If you would like to give to Missions just place your Missions gift in an envelope marked Missions and drop it in collection any time along with your Tithes and Offerings. Each month, you can read a little more about Christian Mission organisations and what they do!
APRIL ANNIVERSARIES
Steph & Tony - April 10th
Ben & Rubina - April 18th
APRIL BIRTHDAYS
4th Lowri James
5th Eran Locker
6th Aaron Day
7th Mark Williams
16th Neil Williams
19th Michelle Davies
22nd Angel Benjamin
25th Sian Hughes
30th Ryan Gormley
30th Szymon Sowinski
APRIL SPECIAL EVENTS
EASTER MORNING DAWN CELEBRATION
6am Sunday 5th April, on the beach
opposite St Helen*s Rugby Ground
SPRING HARVEST
6th - 10th April - Please pray for all who are attending
SWANSEA HOPE SUNDAY
19th April - A day to pray for and give to the work of
Swansea Hope.
MAY SPECIAL EVENTS
Sunday
10:30am - Morning Service
3:30pm - The O-Zone Family Service
Monday
7pm - 20/04/15 - Life Lounge
Wednesday
7:00pm - Prayer Meeting
(08/04/15 - Mission Focus)
(22/04/15 - Kids/Youth Focus)
Thursday
9:15am-11:15am - Coffee Morning/Parent & Toddler
There will be no Coffee Morning on Thursday 9th April.
Friday
7pm-8pm Youth Club & Service
8pm-9pm Afterhours Biblestudy.
There will be no R-Gen on Friday 3rd and 10th April.
